Staring at the clock. Grabbing your phone and idly scrolling through Instagram. Tossing and turning.
We’ve all been there…and it sucks.
But over the past few months — including, frustratingly, on vacation — I’ve had a really hard time getting to sleep.
Basically, this. I get into bed and my mind starts racing.
I’d tried so so many things — from the natural like melatonin or magnesium to just taking a freaking Klonopin and calling it a night — and they either didn’t work at all or I’d wake up really groggy. I cut back on coffee past noonish.
I tried sleeping with my shades open, I tried sleeping with my shades shut. I put the temperature in my room up, I put the temperature in my room down.
Nothing. Awesome.
I’ve enjoyed meditating on and off but, to be honest, haven’t ever really stuck with it regularly.
A particularly wide-awake night a few weeks ago, I decided to give the Headspace app another try, and it’s completely changed my sleep.
They have an intro recording that discusses your relationship with sleep, and that we so often have a hard time falling asleep because it’s the first time we’ve stopped in our busy days. We also start comparing our wide-awake state to other times we’ve had a hard time falling asleep, and it’s a vicious cycle.
The actual meditation is great, too! It starts by asking you to play back your day in your head — from waking up to showering to commuting, etc. Even when I’m just trying to meditate and fall asleep on my own now, I’ve found this incredibly helpful. From there, you do a progressive muscle relaxation. I have TMJ and carry so much tension in my jaw, and I always feel some relief and release here, too.
And you? How do you fall asleep when you’re having trouble? Or do you have any specific bedtime rituals?
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